joining me now, miss montana, 2012, alexis wineman. good morning to you. i know it's bright and early in las vegas. thanks so much for getting up so early. >> thank you for having me, gretchen. >> gretchen: tell people about your story because not only is it amazing that you're only 18 years old and have accomplished this goal of becoming miss montana, but you were diagnosed at 11 with autism. i know it was a struggle because you didn't know what was wrong with you up until that point, right? >> that is correct. i for the longest time really wanted to know what was wrong with me. when i was finally diagnosed, i felt like it came too late. but when i got right down to it, it really helped. i found ways to cope with it and now it's part of who i am and i feel blessed that i'm able to define my autism rather than it define me. >> gretchen: so tell us what types of symptoms and signs that you have and how you cope with it. >> i have very mild symptoms. but i do suffer from constant meltdowns if things get too stressful. i have problems understanding common thi